Ecstasy has been an important topic on this page several times in the past few months, and so it is again.
In January, we commented on a series of deadly or near-fatal incidents in Abbotsford involving ecstasy.
That editorial specifically noted the deaths of two local young people:
On Nov. 27, Tyler Miller, 20, took ecstasy. He was a gifted Abbotsford musician and student, with great career plans.
On Dec. 19, 17-year-old Cheryl McCormack of Abbotsford ingested ecstasy with some friends – ostensibly as a weight loss aid. She became unresponsive, and three days later, she died. She was a bright, fun and athletic teen.
We appealed to parents, police, teachers, and especially teens, to speak with each other about the chemical roulette of ecstasy use.
We suggested at the time that the loss of Tyler and Cheryl must take on a deeper future meaning – to save the lives of others.
It seems that has come to pass.
This week, a 24-year-old Abbotsford man who was placed in a medically induced coma and spent a week in hospital after using ecstasy says he’s lucky to be alive.
For that, he credits Tyler and Cheryl, and the heightened public awareness of ecstasy that followed their deaths.
Because of information in media coverage about the effects of the drug, the young man believed that what he was feeling after having taken ecstasy was life-threatening.
He told his parents, and they got him to hospital in time – not to prevent his collapse and coma, but in time to prevent his death.
Tyler and Cheryl have indeed saved a life.
It is bittersweet solace for their family and friends.
It would be infinitely better if this is the last such occasion.